Willie Heath Neal
Willie Heath Neal to release Out Of Highway
Free Download for Title Track: "Out of Highway"
Willie Heath Neal, a walking talking country song, will be releasing Out Of Highway on Chicken Ranch Records on March 10th with SXSW performances to follow. In the era when the "Outlaws" - Wille Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings etc. - ruled the radio, another little outlaw was born in the back of a cop car somewhere in Gwinnett County Georgia. It took him many years and many roads (including stays in foster homes, a stint in the Navy and a run with a punk band) but eventually Willie Heath Neal returned to his roots and began bashing out the kind of outlaw country that used to be so famous but now is in short supply.
Back then, "Outlaw" was more than a marketing ploy, it was a way of life. The myths mixed with the music. Neal remembers that time, and he delivers his trashed up take on honky tonk with that same sense of honesty on his latest Chicken Ranch release Out of Highway.
Neal has long been popular with his peers such as likeminded touring partners from the past ala Wayne Hancock, the Rev. Horton Heat, and J. D. Wilkes of The Legendary Shack Shakers (who makes an appearance on the record). Hank Williams III even cut (but not yet released) one of Neal's tunes. Now it's time for their fans to make note of Neal. Because now with Out of Highway Neal has made the album of his life, one that should make the original Outlaws proud to call him one of their own.
"Willie Heath Neal's official press release calls the unvarnished, throaty singer/songwriter "a country song." The description is right on the mark, considering that the details of his life cover a multitude of country music themes, including a rough start, a hard life, and the rebelliousness that comes with both."
- All Music Guide
"Like Hank Williams III, Willie Heath Neal isn't quite the cow-punk he used to be, at least in the studio. Nowadays it's an unplugged guitar powering his eighteen-wheeler-load of 'tude."
- Miami New Times
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myspace.com/WillieHeathNeal
ChickenRanchRecords.com